[Dixielandjazz] Music and money

[Larry Walton Entertainment]

"Out of the mouths of babes"  There's a whole lot of truth here but we 
don't have to accept it.  I sell entertainment as well as music.  I'm 
always looking for things that will do the job better.

Bob Said: IMHO part of the
reason for that is that many people don't know or
care how much work goes into making music even
rudimentarily well. They perceive musicians as
people who do nothing but have fun, as people who
never work.

It's true - a good musician makes it look easy but so does a pro ball player.  Part of the problem is the phrase "playing and instrument" or "playing in a band"  That is just part of the language and we can't get away from it.  Over the years when I tell someone the price and they are surprised and say something like "but I thought you guys enjoyed playing".  Well DUH! I like eating too.  Personally I usually say I work with a band or I work as a professional musician.
Larry Walton
St. Louis


Bob Loomis wrote:
>    OK, I'm not a pro musician, I'm an amateur
> coffeehouse string band musician who happens to
> love OKOM, too. 
>    One thing I seem to notice even at the lowly
> level at which our band has played and plays (The
> best gigs we get are weddings and birthday
> parties, and they are few and far between)is that
> musicians today (except for those who are stars
> in the Big Bucks Music Industry) are viewed
> pretty much as little better than gypsies,
> ne'er-do-wells, hired help, and less important
> even than waiters and waitresses. Plus live music
> is no longer a part of the normal fabric of
> day-to-day life in most of the cities, suburbs
> and towns of our nation. TV and satellite radio
> and computers and MP3s are replacing actual live
> cultural activity. It's a far cry from when local
> people who knew everybody in their town or 'hood
> played weekend dances that were a high point of
> social life.
>    Of course there are exceptions, but they
> usually don't pay real well. IMHO part of the
> reason for that is that many people don't know or
> care how much work goes into making music even
> rudimentarily well. They perceive musicians as
> people who do nothing but have fun, as people who
> never work. (OK, maybe they're partly right <GGG>
> ...)
>    And of course the people who hire musicians
> are another whole topic. Many of them don't give
> a rat's ass for music, they just want to increase
> their business and they think maybe music will
> help do that.
>    Just a few random thoughts from an amateur who
> still loves playing and listening to music,
> whether by TCash's groups, Steve's band,
> Preservation Hall, whoever is putting out a
> soulful bit of music that conveys life's
> emotional complexity.
>
> Happy Webtrails, Bob Loomis
> "So Many Tunes, So Little Time!"
>
>    
>    
>
>
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